Living it up in dog-friendly Lisbon

When we were initially planning our Europe adventure we didn’t know much about Portugal as a destination - and embarrassingly assumed it would just be an extension of Spain…. It was good to be so wrong, as Portugal is an amazing country and top destination in its own right!

We soon discovered this after driving over the amazing Vasco da Gama Bridge and arriving into the centre of Lisbon. The city itself is absolutely beautiful, set right on the waterfront and it looks like its been painted in pinky hued pastels.

We hadn’t done a lot of research beforehand about what to do or see in the city, so when we started to explore we were pleasantly surprised with not only how much there was to see in the city and surrounding areas, but how many things we were able to do with Beatle.

THINGS TO DO

Rossio Square and Surrounding Area

Rossio Square is one of the main squares in the historic area of Lisbon. It has a large monument in its centre, two baroque fountains, pretty wave pattern tiles (intended to replicate the sea) and is surrounded by interesting buildings - including the National Theatre. There are touristy type restaurants here, as well as hawkers, so just be aware of your surroundings and be prepared to say ‘no’ if approached. But if the weather is nice, you’ll also find lots of people just milling around and enjoying the day. As it’s a public plaza the area is dog-friendly to explore.

Praça do Coméricio

This huge, open square has beautiful buildings on each side with the fourth side being open to the riverfront. If coming from the centre of town, you’ll arrive via the stunning Triunfal arch - which you’ll definitely want a photo of! In the centre of the plaza is a large monument, and you’ll also find a selection of restaurants here with outdoor seating.

It’s a great place to walk around and take in the different buildings and amazing architecture with your dog. This area does get quite busy though as is a major attraction, so it can be worth trying to get there early for some crowd free snaps. Once you’ve taken lots of photos, you can start to explore the surrounding shops, or head towards the waterfront for some great views.

You’ll find more arches underneath the building

Praça do Município

This large plaza is a five min walk from Praça do Coméricio has more amazing tile work. In its centre you’ll find a large monument (Pelourinho de Lisboa) and around the outside are more great buildings, including the impressive Town Hall and Money Museum - and other pieces of public art around the square. From here you are only a five min walk to Pink Street.

Pink Street

If you want to see one of the prettiest streets in Lisbon, then head straight to the very photogenic Pink Street (Rua Nova do Carvalho). This hip street is not only beautiful to look at, but has plenty of bars and restaurants with outdoor seating if you’re looking to have drinks or dinner. Do note that this area can get really busy at night / weekends, so consider if your dog will be comfortable in large, noisy crowds. And if you’re wanting photos sans crowds then the best time to visit is early in the day, before everything opens and the late night revellers are still sleeping!

Tiled Streets (Calçada)

Lisbon is full of intricate, beautifully hand laid tiled streets - so much so that there is even a monument dedicated to the workers who created them off Praça dos Restauradores. We really enjoyed walking around the city to see all of the different patterns (though watch your step as they are notoriously uneven and slippery when wet!) Some of the best streets to see this work are Rua Augusta (which leads to the Triunfal arch) and in the squares mentioned above.

Santa Justa Lift

The lift is one of the key tourist attractions in Lisbon is part of the public transport system and is intended to save the long uphill hike between the city and the neighbourhood of Bairro Alto. While unfortunately the lift is not dog friendly to ride, if you happen to be exploring that area, or have walked ten minutes to get there from the Pedro de Alcántara Viewpoint, then can go out on viewing platform for some great views over the city and to see some church ruins.

San Pedro de Alcántara Viewpoint

There are some great viewpoints ocross Lisbon, but San Pedro de Alcántara was our favourite. It’s a bit of a trek uphill to reach it but so worth it, especially as the sun starts to set.

The hill itself is quite steep but there is still plenty of space to walk and it’s not a very long distance.

Amazing views from San Pedro de Alcántara

Campo del Cebalos

This beautiful, historic area is a leisurely 5-10 min walk along the waterfront from Praça do Coméricio. The area is full of colourful, tiled buildings - with the most famous ones in a row at ground level. At the bottom of these you’ll find a box of small shops and good looking restaurants to explore with your dog. Up behind this area are more interesting buildings, including the Cathedral of Lisbon (about a five min walk). There are no wrong turns when exploring this area as you’ll find interesting buildings whichever way you turn.

If you do want to head uphill for more views, the Santa Luzia Viewpoint is about a ten min walk from here.

From there, you can walk another eight mins to the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora and three mins walk from there is the Church of Santa Engrácia, a beautiful white domed building,

Santa Luzia Viewpoint

This viewpoint is the Aflama neighbourhood and offers great views over pretty coloured houses and churches out to the port. To reach this, it’s about a 15 minute walk (uphill) from Praça do Coméricio, or ten minutes from Campo del Cebalos. There is also a tram that goes to this route, however, I can’t find anything definitive, so think it may be up to the driver and how busy the tram itself is.

Sao Jorge Castle

I’ve seen articles online with people saying this place is dog-friendly (and even photos of dogs visiting it), however their official website says no dogs are allowed… We didn’t see any when we visited so I would tend to say its not, especially as they had some pretty aggressive looking peacocks on site…. However, you can still see the Castle from other locations in Lisbon (such as the San Pedro de Alcántara viewpoint) and if you’re visiting the nearby Santa Luzia view point, its only a 10-15 min walk through some pretty scenic streets if you want to get a bit closer. Near the Castle you’ll also get some amazing views back across the city, especially at dusk.

Funiculars

There are three funiculars in Lisbon; Elevador do Lavra, Elevador da Glória, and Elevador da Bica. I couldn’t find anything definitive about if dogs are allowed on these or not, so it might just be a case of determining how busy they are and asking the drivers.

The most popular is the Elevador da Glória which connects Restauradores Square with Rua San Pedro de Alcántara (and the amazing San Pedro de Alcántara viewpoint.). This one always has queues, so unless you get there first thing when there is no one waiting, its probably best to avoid trying to catch it with your dog. Alternatively, you can walk up the hill alongside the funicular. While it’s quite steep, there is still plenty of space to walk and it’s not a very long distance. Lots of people, including us, just chose walk up anyway to see the graffiti etc along the way..

The da Bica Funicular connects Rua de São Paulo with Calçada do Combro and is the second most popular funicular. The two times we rode it there were only a couple of other people on board - so if you’re wanting to try one with your dog, you might have more luck on this one (during off peak times). In my opinion, the views at the top of this one are also pretty spectacular (see the first photo in this post). Its also only a couple of minutes walk from the Time Out Market (see the ‘Eats’ section for more info on this).

When you really want to look behind you…

Waterfront Area

Head down to the waterfront for great views back over the city and out across the river. If you want to explore further you can go either way, but going left will lead you to the small, Doca da Marinha, where you can see historical Portuguese boats as well as a couple of examples of modern architecture.

At the far end of the Marina is a good sized grass park, perfect for a rest and/or a pee break. Opposite the Marina you can cross the road to see more pretty buildings and this will lead to you to the interesting of Campo das Cebolas (as outlined above).

Avenida da Liberdade

This Parisian inspired boulevard is approximately 1.6 kms long and runs between Parque Eduardo VII and the pretty Praça dos Restauradores with its central monument and pretty tiles. The boulevard is located in the middle of the road - but has plenty of shade, kiosks selling food and drinks and small water features.

On either side you’ll find more upmarket / name brand stores as well as several hotels etc. As the boulevard is protected from cars and the sun, it's a nice place to walk your dog and you’ll find plenty of seating, shady spots and grass to enjoy.

Parque Eduardo VII (Marques de Pombal)

This gigantic park sits at the end of Avenida da Liberdade and its a fairly easy, but slightly uphill walk to reach the bottom of it. Just before you reach the park, you’ll find a large roundabout with the National Monument, Marquis of Pombal Square.

The park itself is very green, and while dogs are allowed in the main areas, there is a manicured section in the centre where they are not allowed (though you’ll likely still see dogs in there…). As you make your way to the top, you’ll pass different attractions and viewpoints, including a lookout over the Botanic Gardens (on the left) and the pretty, yellow and tiled Pavilion, Pavilhão Carlos Lopes (on the right).

Once you make it to the top you’ll be rewarded with fantastic views back over the city and all the way to the water.

Great views back across the city from the top of Parque Eduardo VII

If you do want to give your dog some off lead time, cross the street at the top to Jardim Amália Rodrigues -which is off leash and has some small paths, shade and interesting sculptures to explore.

If you follow the path to the right, you’ll reach an area that has a decent sized man made lake. While it isn’t huge, its reasonably shallow and has a sloped entrance for easy access, so Beatle dipped her toes in.

Day trip to nearby Belém

Belém is approximately 20 mins by train ride from Lisbon (along the waterfront) and makes a great morning or afternoon trip. Here are my recommendations to walk around and see the best of Belém with your dog. I’ve included a map at the bottom of this section to give you an idea of locations and distance.

Once you arrive into Belém railway station, go over the pedestrian bridge which will take you to the Jardim Afonso de Albuquerque. This pretty park has lots of shady areas and some interesting monuments in it.

From here, walk up the pretty main street, Rua de Belém to see the pastel coloured buildings.

Pretty pastel coloured buildings in Belém

You’ll also want to make sure you visit the famous bakery Pastéis de Belém for a ‘pastel’ or Portuguese Tart. As it’s a busy bakery dogs can’t go inside, but it doesn’t take long to order a couple (or a few…) of these delicacies that you can enjoy in a nearby park, or eat while you walk to the next spot…

We always have time for a Portuguese Tart and these were amazing!

Once you’d had your fill of tarts (and let your bud hoover up the flaky pasty crumbs), then its only a couple of minutes walk to Jeronimos Monastery. This imposing, yet stunning beautiful building is set in a huge pedestrian only plaza. While you need tickets to visit the Monastery grounds and dogs aren’t allowed - its free to go into the Igreja de Santa Maria Church and the queue moves reasonably quickly if you want to take turns. Otherwise you can enjoy the building from the outside and walk around three sides of it.

If you follow the plaza, at the opposite end is the Maritime Museum which also has a beautiful exterior.

From here there is a bit of a walk to the next stop, but I promise its worth it! You’ll weave through some more residential areas before crossing the road and arriving at the Jardim da Torre de Belém. As you meander though this park you’ll see the impressive, Belém Tower, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. While dogs can’t go in (it is often crowded and there are steep stairs), in my opinion the best views are from the outside - and if the tide is out you can walk right up to it from the beach. Often there will be small carts outside selling wine and snacks, so if you’ve built up an appetite it can be a good spot to take a break as you’ll get nice views over the river and down to the Vasco da Gama Bridge.

To get to the next couple of spots you’ll zig-zag around the marina, but end up back on the waterfront - where you will see some interesting things, including a brick lighthouse and some art / sculptures.

There is some interesting pubic art along the Belém waterfront

As you keep walking you’ll then come across the very large Monument to the Discoveries. You can pay to go to the top of this. While its not dog-friendly if you want to take turns it would only take around 15 mins depending on if there was a queue.

Don’t forget to look at the ground out front of the monument, as it has some really amazing tile work (a compass).

The very large Monument to the Discoveries (see the tiny people on top!)

Continuing along the waterfront you’ll then reach the curvy, futuristic MAAT (Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology). You can walk around this building and up onto the roof with your dog for some great views.

From here you have the option to keep exploring the waterfront, or its a relatively easy walk back to the train station.

I’ve put together a map of the main attractions to show what it would look like as a loop walk. In total its about 5.5kms, but some of that is because there are limited places to cross the railway lines - so just be aware of that as we ended up back-tracking a couple of times.

OTHER THINGS TO DO

Electric Tuk Tuk tours

You’ll see a number of these little electric Tuk Tuks around town and they would be perfect if you had limited time, mobility issues, or the weather wasn’t optimal (too hot or cold) for walking. We spoke to a couple of the guys running them who said Beatle would be welcome to join us. While I’m not sure if they’re all dog-friendly, some definitely are! Even though they looked like a lot of fun, we didn’t take one on this trip as we had a few days to explore and they were reasonably pricey for just the two of us - but I imagine you could could have a great time zipping around with an experienced guide.

GETTING AROUND

We had been accustomed to taking trains around Europe, but couldn't find one that went between Spain and Portugal. As we didn't want to fly with Beatle, we ended up getting a rental car for this portion of the journey and it worked out well as was an inexpensive and stress free way to travel. We drove from Madrid to Lisbon and were amazed at how empty the roads were. We were also expecting to drive through some sort of passport control once we reached Portugal - but there were no checks at the border so we just carried on!

We hired our car through Europcar as they had affordable rates and allow dogs to travel for no extra fee. We did however, put towels on the seats to try and keep them as fur free as possible.

Once you’re in Lisbon, dogs are allowed on urban train lines and travel for free so long as they are in a carrier, or on a leash with a muzzle (although we didn’t see the muzzle rule being enforced). It was difficult to find any definitive information about travelling on trams, although I would expect the same regulations would be in place. However the trams are small and dinky - and always seem to be at full capacity - so we didn’t end up taking Beatle on them.

In terms of getting around the city, it’s largely walkable if you are reasonably fit. Of all the places we’ve visited Lisbon was the hilliest - so expect lots of cardio as you trek up and down narrow and uneven paths and roads - and plenty of stairs too. If you have a dog who overheats quickly (like Beats) then be prepared to move at a slower pace than usual and carry extra water.

The trams in Lisbon are both quirky and speedy

EAT

Kiosks

We found the small kiosks dotted around to be really good value in terms of food and drinks. The service was reasonably quickly and as all of their seating is outdoors, they were very dog friendly. A couple of our favourites were; Kiosk Lisbon which was located on Avenida da Liberdade and served good pizza and generous wines… and not far from here, in the pretty and dog-friendly Praća da Algeria was Kiosk Algeria, which often had live music.

Time Out Market

Unfortunately the inside of this market isn’t dog friendly, but I just had to include it as the food is so, so good.

Every night of the week this place is busy and buzzing with both visitors and locals. The food is ahhhh-mazing, well priced, cooked to order and the servings are generous. We went here almost every night we were in Lisbon and while we tried lots of new things, we also quickly developed old favourites we kept going back to.

At the far end of the market is a row of eateries with well known chefs, some of whom have Michelin Stars, so the calibre of food is really high. There is every type of cuisine you could imagine and a really big variety - from small snacks, to full meals and desserts. There are also large bars in the centre serving drinks, or you can purchase these from the food vendors.

If you’re happy to leave your dog at your accommodation, then I highly recommend coming here. If that is not an option, then you can order some of the food to takeaway (and the waterfront is nearby so you can enjoy it with a view), or can order delivery and enjoy at your your accommodation. If you are opting for a quick snack or takeaway then I highly recommend the delish croquettes from Croqueteria and a sweet treat from Crush Doughnuts as these items will travel well. For more info visit: https://www.timeoutmarket.com/lisboa/en/eat-and-drink/

IN SUMMARY

We loved Lisbon more than we thought possible, the weather, the friendly people, the amount of things to see and do, the beautiful views, the tiled streets and buildings - and the amazing food! The food alone made the trip worthwhile….

Lisbon is one of those places that people are really starting to notice and talk about - and so I expect it will only become more crowded and expensive as more people catch on and travel there in future.

So my suggestion is to pack your bags, harness your dog and go, go, go! But do consider the weather and temperatures as I imagine it would be incredibly busy and hot in summer.

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